The Cuban Missile Crisis

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THE CUBAN MISSILE
CRISIS
Background Part I
Cold War Tension
Struggle for Land
 East-West Germany  Berlin Airlift 
Berlin Wall
 Containment  Eastern Europe/Iron
Curtain, China, Korea
 Spying  McCarthy, Rosenbergs, U2
Incident

Background Part II
The Arms Race


Improved delivery systems
 Sputnik  ICBMs
 Multiple warhead ICBMs
Improved Yield
 Atom Bomb… Fission Bomb…
 Hydrogen Bomb… Fusion Bomb…
 Hiroshima blast = 15, 000 tons of TNT.
Largest hydrogen bombs today = with
60,000,000 tons of TNT.
• So a bomb today is like 4000
Hiroshimas.

Hiroshima
H-Bomb Test
Background Part II (cont.)

Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)
By the 1960s, it was fairly clear that in
a nuclear war, everyone would die.
 Even if the bombs didn’t kill everyone
immediately, scientists predicted a
nuclear winter and nuclear fallout
would finish the job
 Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado

Part I. Cuban Revolution



Like many Latin American countries, Cuba
was run by a dictator
The U.S. supported this dictator (like it did in
many other Latin American countries) because
the dictator protected American economic
interests in Cuba
Americans owned a lot of the land in Cuba and
made a lot of $ from the land and from running
vacation spots in Cuba

Many Cubans resented the dictator (Batista)
and the aid he received from America
Cuban Revolution (cont.)
In 1959, a revolution, led by Fidel
Castro, overthrew the Cuban
dictatorship
 Castro proclaimed the island communist
and seized American land and oil
refineries
 America stopped trade with Cuba and
Castro increasingly turned towards the
Soviet Union as a partner (trade, aid,
etc.)

Part II. The Bay of Pigs Invasion



aka The Bay of Pigs Fiasco (from an American
perspective)
Castro didn’t really make people in Cuba much happier
 He allowed very few civil rights : freedom of speech,
popular sovereignty, etc.
 People’s lives were controlled: where you worked,
where you travelled, etc.
 Many believed that Cuba had traded one kind of
dictator for another kind of dictator
The CIA (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency) was given
permission by Eisenhower and then JFK in 1960 to train a
group of Cuban Exiles living in the U.S. to invade Cuba
 Hoped this would spark an uprising of Cubans against
Castro and end Cuban Communism
Bay of Pigs (continued)
When Cuban exiles landed in a
Cuban Bay called the Bay of Pigs,
the U.S. air force, which had
promised air support, hesitated, not
wanting to be brought into conflict
with the Soviet Union
 The CIA-trained Cuban force was
routed by the Castro-led Cuban
military

The U.S. had to pay Castro to
release them
 Huge embarrassment for America
on the international stage

Part III. The Cuban Missile Crisis
After the Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union
began to send weapons to Cuba to protect
against further invasion
 JFK publicly said that the U.S. would not
tolerate nuclear weapons in Cuba


Why such a big deal?
The Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)

In 1962, the U.S., using U2 spy planes,
photographed nuke launch sites in Cuba
The Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)

What were JFK’s options?
Pretend he doesn’t know the nukes are
there and just live with them
 Attack Cuba
 Anything else?


Brinksmanship
Who is willing to step closer to the
precipice of nuclear war?
 JFK publicly announced that nukes were
in Cuba and that the Soviet Union had to
withdraw them
 Then, JFK ordered a naval blockade of all
ships going to and from Cuba

The Cuban Missile Crisis (cont.)

In the end, Khrushchev (Soviet leader)
blinked


Pulled missiles out of Cuba
P.S. U.S. agreed to pull missiles out of
Turkey, too
But… we had never admitted they were
there in the first place, so we never
admitted they were gone (to the public)
 Thus, looked like JFK had won a huge
Cold War victory

Hansen
U.S. History
The Cuban Crisis
Background Part I- Cold War Tensions
•
Struggle for Land
– East-West _______ Berlin _________ Berlin
_______
– Containment  Eastern Europe/Iron Curtain,
China, _________
•
Spying  McCarthy, _________________, U2 Incident
Background Part II- The Arms Race
•
Improved ____________ systems
– Sputnik  ICBMs - ______________________
_______________________________________
– Multiple ______________ ICBMs
•
Improved _______________
– Atom Bomb… Fission Bomb…
– ________________________… Fusion Bomb…
– Hiroshima blast = __________tons of TNT.
Largest hydrogen bombs today = with
____________________ tons of TNT.
• So a bomb today is like _____ Hiroshimas.
•
Mutually Assured Destruction ( ____________)
– By the 1960s, it was fairly clear that in a nuclear
war, ____________________________.
– Even if the bombs didn’t kill everyone
immediately, scientists predicted a nuclear
winter- _________________________
_________________________________ and
nuclear fallout _______________________________________
________________________would finish the job
– Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado - __________
______________________________________
Name _____________________
Period _________
Note-Taking Guide
Part I. Cuban Revolution
•
Like many Latin American countries, Cuba was run ___
_____________________________
•
The U.S. ____________________ this dictator (like it
did in ___________________________________
_____________________) because the dictator
protected American _____________________ in Cuba
•
Americans owned a lot of the ________ in Cuba and
made a lot of _____ from the land and from running
____________________________in Cuba
– Many Cubans resented the dictator (_________ )
and the aid he received from America
•
In 1959, a revolution, led by ____________, overthrew
the Cuban dictatorship
•
Castro proclaimed the island _____________ and
seized American land and ____________________
•
America ____________________ with Cuba and Castro
increasingly turned towards the ___________
__________ as a partner (trade, aid, etc.)
Part II. The Bay of Pigs Invasion
•
aka The Bay of Pigs Fiasco (from a U.S. perspective)
•
Castro didn’t really make people in Cuba much ______
– He allowed very few _____________: freedom of
speech, popular sovereignty, etc.
– People’s lives were ___________: where you
worked, where you travelled, etc.
– Many believed that Cuba had traded one kind of
dictator for _____________________________
•
•
•
•
The CIA (U.S. __________________________)
was given permission by Eisenhower and then
________ in 1960 to train a group of Cuban Exiles
living in the U.S. to _________________________
– Hoped this would spark an
____________________________ against
Castro and end ______________________
When Cuban exiles landed in a Cuban Bay
called the Bay __________, the U.S. air force,
which had promised ___________, hesitated, not
wanting to _______________________________
________________________________________
The CIA-trained Cuban force was ___________
___________________________ Cuban military
– The U.S. had to __________ to release
them
– Huge __________ for America on the
____________________________
Part III. The Cuban Missile Crisis
•
After the Bay of Pigs, the Soviet Union began to
______________________________________
_____________ to protect against further invasion
•
JFK publicly said that the U.S. would not tolerate
___________________ in Cuba
– Why such a big deal? ________________
___________________________________
•
In 1962, the U.S., using U2 spy planes,
______________________________ ______ sites
in Cuba
•
What were JFK’s options?
– ____________________________________
______ the nukes are there and just live with
them
– _____________Cuba
– Anything else?
•
•
Brinksmanship
– Who was willing to step closer to the precipice
________________________________?
– JFK _______________________________
_____________________________________
and that the Soviet Union had to withdraw them
– Then, JFK ordered a ___________________
of all ships going to and from Cuba
In the end, Khrushchev ________________________
– Pulled _______________________________
P.S. U.S. agreed to pull missiles ______________
__________________________, too
– But… we had never admitted they were there in
the first place, __________________________
____________________ (to the public)
– Thus, looked like JFK had ________________
______________________________________